The Tirastranded Campaign

In Miragenon, no one can hear you scream.

The group is on the Fairing Fowl ship headed to Tirastrand with the belowdecks full of Gani settlers. Riga has been appointed Chief of Security and Root Hanson and acolyte Tom Hafner are also on board. Both Hafner and Dawhl are Count Rivett people.

A meeting is held between the party and Captain Dwahl where it is decided that taking the direct route to Tirastrand is the way to go. The circuitous route plan was changed when the fiend named Grayson overheard it. After the meeting, Riga speaks to a Miri passenger who tells him that the Miri people think they will receive a plot of land on Tirastrand. A sailor named Nick the Saint recognizes Riga and calls her Riga the Risen and says he is close with the gods.

The group meets for dinner in Captain Dwahl’s cabin. Dwahl tells of his past and how he served aboard a ship called the Arrowfish in the Pirate Crusades. He tells stories of Count Monar and the Grimes family. When he is finished, Hafner excuses himself and Root, Feylanna, and Dominic take first watch.

Feylanna hears a vague knocking belowdecks and investigates it by herself. She sees a four-fingered burned handprint on a door and Root says that behind the door are some violent Gani criminals. Riga hears whistling from behind the door and after opening it, sees a black handprint on the other side of the door. One of the Gani prisoners spits out a little finger bitten off of another prisoner and says that the fey told them to do it. The group informs Captain Dwahl immediately and is told that Count Rivett authorized the prisoners to become slaves.

Feylanna enters the soul jar and ice appears on her body. The party feels like something is moving inside of their bellies, but only Falda thinks it is real and he suffers CON damage as a result. The group is now able to talk to Hailstone after Dominic casts SPEAKWITHDEAD. Hailstone says that the Rokis family betrayed the Par-Rofin and Onida. The Kolbans slayed all of the Par-Rofin they could find. The Rokis betrayal didn’t go unnoticed; they were richly rewarded but were cursed by the Par-Rofin. Hailstone says that only the descendants of the Par-Rofin can loft the Rokis Curse, but Hailstone doubts any would.

Feylanna wakes up gasping and says that a spirit was asking her about the Tome of Abbis and the Kolban Egg. She said the spirit’s name was Drosdar Dragontongue and that he could read her mind. Dominic rests for an hour and then casts LESSERRESTORATION on Falda, curing his Constitution damage. Usuna arrives to cure Feylanna of her affliction while Riga and Falda leave to visit Odemar.

Riga and Falda arrive at Odemar’s house and Odemar’s servant notices Riga’s squid ring before withdrawing. Odemar admits to helping Madea Rokis by communing with Usbeth so the devil below could answer her questions and give her information on how to lift the Rokis Curse. Odemar says he can put Madea to rest after she was killed by Usbeth. The three of them sailed to the Sinkwell and Madea gave birth to Pravus in the boat. She promised her child for the answers to her questions, but then refused to give up her child and she threw herself overboard. Oedemar fled, assuming Pravus and his father died. It is said that whoever holds the Eye of the Devil is possessed by Usbeth, who is trapped under the ice of the White Sea. Falda and Riga return to the Malakis house and everyone sleeps.

In the morning, Usuna returns and cures Dominic of the Tears of Mwramei curse. The party has breakfast with Reno and Mrs Malakis, Asgin, and Usuna. They find out that the Par-Rofin were part fey and led the Rofin empire. The Mancari are full fey and come from the Kolban Plateau, but hate the Kolbans. The Par-Rofin are possibly in Miragenon. The Onida are fey near Lake Nemar and their realm was thrust into Miragenon so any surviving Onida probably are not the same. Asgin says the Par-Rofin are hated on the Kolban Plateau and that killing them is usually considered heroic.

After breakfast, the group thanks Reno for his hospitality and heads toward their ship. They are attacked again by the mysterious force. Falda runs towards Sentry Castle with Dominic and Riga chasing him while Feylanna holds the ship from leaving. They look for Sir Gracebourne and hear that Lady Freisen is with him. They meet a cleric of Ylgoth named Igiza who says that he nees the soul of Magoro. Igiza says the soul was stolen and that if Falda has no fear, it will go away. Falda tells Sir Gracebourne to call him Falda. The group meets back up at the ship and they sail off…

Dominic wakes up hungry and explains to Feylanna that, while she never awoke, she was mumbling incoherently in a language that wasn’t Kolban along with body contortions and maniacal chuckling. She said she doesn’t remember having any dreams. They group goes down to the dining room and joins Reno and Asgin for a brunch of chicken and mammoth with ale. Mammoth tartar and raw egg are also on offer and Dominic eats some. He was warned by the mosscat yesterday to only eat cooked foods and pair it with a strong alcoholic beverage and that doing this, would slow the progression of the madness of the Rokis curse. The purple mosscat also said that Dominic must properly repay Emilda and that, if he doesn’t, another form of misery will fall upon his shoulders. The cat also says Dominic must use what he knows of Emilda to find the proper form of payment because he does not want to face her empty handed and allow her to set her own price.

Reno and Asgin finish lunch and leave the room while Usuna comes in. She says Feylanna is a conduit and that perhaps we can communicate with Hailstone by putting her body in a state of near death. This would be accomplished by putting her soul in a magic jar. The group talks about selling the dragon shell fragment, which is worth about 8,000 gp, to cure Feylanna’s conduit condition. Usuna leaves the group to set everything up.

Root Hanson comes to the door and says he wants the group on the ship with Captain Dwahl. Root also wants us to specifically follow his orders without question. Feylanna casts HIDEFROMANIMALS on Dominic and then she leaves to see if she can obtain a mosscat as an animal companion. The rest of the party goes to a sailor bar called the Floating Barrel to meet with Captain Dwahl. When they get there, they hear a retelling of the story of the Illuminated Lady. Dominci buys snacks for the table and Captain Dwahl says he heard that the group reported pirates between Klintmark and Mossland. The group tells the captain that Pentrop wants to stop the food shipment and that they will act as security for his ship. Captain Dwahl is also receptive to the idea of the Fairing Fowl taking an alternate route to deter any pursuers. Captain Dwahl says the group can come on the journey, but Riga notices a man that appears to be a fiend inside of the bar.

The man introduces himself as Grayson and is invited to work on the Fairing Fowl. The group follows Grayson outside when, suddenly, Grayson throws a vial on the ground and a vile-smelling cloud fills the street. Dominic throws up and passes out. Falda summons a couple of wasps but Grayson manages to escape before city guards arrive on the scene. Riga sees Grayson’s scarf and a pouch full of silvers on the ground, which she takes.

Feylanna goes to Gandrelle’s house to find a mosscat companion. Gandrelle says she will assist Feylanna in getting one. Riga and Falda carry Dominic back to the Floating Barrel, where Root says that Dominic will wake up in 30 minutes. They return to the Malakis house where Dominic wakes up and casts LESSERRESTORATION on Falda. In the house, they find a note from Feylanna telling them she went to the forest. Dominic stays home to recover while Falda and Riga go out looking for Feylanna. Feylanna returns to the Malakis house with a mosscat in toe. Feylanna leaves the house to go looking for Falda and Riga but leaves the dragon shell fragment with Dominic.

Everyone finally returns and they show the dragon shell fragment to Reno and Asgin. Asgin doesn’t have the cash for it, but makes the deal to purchase it. The party ties Feylanna up and traps her soul in the magic jar. Falda casts RESISTENERGY (cold) on everyone before the ritual starts…

Falda is in a closet with Rose, a comely young halfling that Billie Ryefield introduced him to…

Meanwhile back at the party… Lady Freisen, having dropped Pentrop’s name casually into a conversation turns and walks away leaving the group stunned and with more questions than answers. Before they can ponder matters too much Root approaches with a young man. The man is very neatly attired in modest but well cared for clothing. Root is dressed in full Mir regalia and also wears the standing bear Sigil of Lord Karman. After polite introductions, Root says “I have spoken with Mr. Hafner and Capt. Dwahl. What you say must be taken seriously. We should talk more of the nature of the threats and what can be done to prepare us to meet them.” They make a plan to meet the following day (the ship departs in two days). Riga emphasizes the threat to reinforce the need to take the party along. Feylanna recommends additional ballistas. Both Riga and Feylanna behave as if they have been invited. Root never dissuades them of this, but notably never included them either.

“Knuckles!” Soren yells and makes his way toward Riga. They chat and Soren says “you should meet Mr. Tristen.” He leads them back to a handsome well dressed and bejeweled man. Soren awkwardly interrupts the man’s conversation with two other nobles and he graciously turns and meets the two women. He takes Riga’s hand and kisses it but when he attempts to do the same to Feylanna, she spins his hand and shakes it vigorously. They laugh about Riga and Sorens fight and Sidell Tristen says he thinks Soren is sweet on Riga. Soren bluffs that “Cloudwalkers stick together.” Conversation turns to the Golden Tiger (which Tristen owns) and they laugh about Laro Viksman. Tristen gives Riga an open invitation to the Golden Tiger with her choice as to whether to be treated to the best the house has to offer or for possible employment. Tristen needs to excuse himself and again kisses Riga’s hand while Feylanna deftly spurns his attempt a second time. After he leaves Feylanna tells Riga that he has a black aura (symbolizes death, party gained these auras as a condition after the Marwramei ritual).

Things in the closet finally come to their logical conclusion and Rose says “I need a drink” and kicks open the closet. As the light streams in a half dressed Falda stumbles out of the closet hastily trying to fix his pants. A man is admiring paintings in the hall opposite the closet. He turns and it is none other than Sir Gracebourne. “I didn’t expect to see you here” Falda stammers.

“Mr Morchem, I am surprised to see you as well. You look like you are enjoying yourself.”

“That’s what the festivals is for right?” says Falda lamely “I gotta go catch up with someone, she went for drinks.” Red faced, Falda hastily moves away from the playwright he believes to be his true father.

Falda downs several drinks in rapid succession as he makes his way toward Feylanna and Riga. They lost Dominick. As they begin searching they run into Billie who says he saw Dominick tottering drunkenly toward the atrium. Feylanna runs off as Riga and Falda exchange pleasantries with Billie who tries to hook Riga up with a friend of his. Billies companion tugs his arm flirtatiously and he excuses himself. Riga and Falda head off to catch up with Feylanna. Feylanna can’t find Dominick in the atrium and begins checking all the rooms off the atrium finding something interesting in all of them including one full scale orgy, but no Dominick. As they catch up to Feylanna, Riga notices something in the bushes. It is Dominick and he appears to be talking to and listening to a mosscat.. The groups steps back to allow him some privacy to finish his conversation, when Atatyr, Cleric of Ram comes and stands uncomfortably close. Feylanna tells him to back off as she in not interested in bestiality and he seems to accept this as flirtation. He commends the parties handling of the events after the play and then points toward the bushes warning the group that Dominick may be ‘a little mad.’ Riga patiently explains that while that may be true, he is in fact ‘more attuned’ to the world of the fey.

“I am to,” Atatyr says plainly. He says that the fey while mischievous are not typically so bold. Something must have provoked them, and he suspects the presence of Dominick. He shares his opinion on Mossland which is that Lady Moss was corrupted by Mir and co-opted into exploiting and enslaving the local fey, betraying her birthright. He comes from Klintmark where he assures the group the two elements coexist peacefully and fairly on the island. Riga explains that the group is from Tirastrand where a similar peace exists. Atatyr observes that while the balance is not as fair on Tirastrand as it is on Klintmark, it is certainly healthier than Mossland. The chat continues until Atatyr finally turns the conversation toward seducing Feylanna. He offers her a chance to experience bestiality first hand. He tells him politely but firmly that should she ever want to experience a beast, she will contact him. He smiles and smacks her on the ass as he leaves. She whirls and smacks him backhand squarely in the groin. He gives a small gasp somewhere between pain and pleasure and limps away with a satisfied smile.

Dominick comes out of the bushes insisting that he is not crazy and the cat really was talking to him. The cat told him he needed to speak with Hailstone. But how? Without the head, it could prove tricky. Could Feylanna serve as an intermediary while she sleeps? Could speak with the dead be used to speak to the head through Feylanna as she carries a bit of death with her due to the Marwramei ritual? Will healing her of her condition cut off Dominicks contact with Hailstone, thereby worsening his? Feylanna protests that she needs to be cured because her condition is causing her to be choked to death whereas Dominick is only going mad. Falda counters that perhaps by communicating with Hailstone, Dominick can lessen his anger and thus reduce the threat to Feylanna. With more questions than answers the group decides that Dominick will attempt to speak with Hailstone while Feylanna sleeps. If he fails he will cast Speak With Dead and try again. In this way they will at least know if the spell is necessary. Once this has been attempted they will decide whether it is best to proceed with Feylanna’s healing or forestall it so maintain the (dangerous) connection to Hailstone. Dominick is filthy from his time in the bushes and leaves the group to find somewhere to wash his pants.

As they make there way through the party they come upon Atatyr playing the flute as people dance suggestively. Smoke curls from the flute as he plays and it seems that the dancers are under the influence of its power. The group moves hastily away and runs smack into an old Gani woman sitting beside an idol. The idol is misshapen and ominous with a massive head on a small body. The woman is well over seventy with thinning hair and missing teeth. She wears a dress patched in all manner of mismatched fabric. A large pair of shears hang form her belt. “Do you have a present for the fey?” she asks and offers to deliver the gift to Miragenon. Falda immediately sees this as a way to reach out to Pravus. He digs in his pack and pulls out an item small enough to be offered. He ‘knows’ that somehow due to the oddness of Miragenon, the item will make its way to Pravus. In this way, Pravus will be reassured that his friends are still seeking him. The item also possesses magic properties that (with a little luck) Pravus can use to escape Miragenon. He hold his offering out to the woman and she picks up a hollow log and inserts it into the mouth of the idol. “Reach your arm in until you feel the tongue and then release the item.” What?!?!? Falda does as she says and despite the relatively small size of the idols head, he manages to get his entire arm into the mouth all the way up to the shoulder before his hand encounters something sticky and wet. He releases the magic item and suddenly feel sit would be wise to get his hand out as quickly as possible. As he yanks backwards nearly falling over, he feels teeth closing around his hand that leave scratch marks on the back of his palm. He thanks the old woman and gives her an offering, before hurrying away.

Falda sees Sir Gracebourne and drops off the tail end of the group to wait for a discreet opportunity to speak with him. He approacheds and says that despite their awkward encounter and his brusqueness earlier, they really do need to talk, about matters both personal and far larger than Falda. Sir Gracebourne asks if he has been to see Mother Sif and Falda replies in the affirmative. They make arrangements to meet the following day at noon and before excusing himself Falda says he hopes that he is brave enough to keep the appointment.

Feylanna sees Dominick sitting by a large fireplace drying his pants and heads off to join him. Riga stops to talk to Macy Candleman who says that he delivered the message. The recipient was OK and understood the message. Riga is greatly relieved that Kaspar has been alerted that he is in danger and gone into hiding. Ominously, Macy says there is more that he needs to tell Riga and asks her to come by his home late that evening and knock softly.

Riga and Falda join Dominick and Feylanna fireside. Feylanna at this point is frustrated. She desperately wants to try to have some fun and leaves the group searching for something to take her mind off all the worries that seem to follow the party like a cloud. Dominick is morose and keeps asking to go home. Riga notices that part of Falda’s shirt is missing. She blames the gani woman for stealing a piece to add to her own cloak while Falda was making his offering. Dominick is hungry and strangely obsessed with sausage so Riga sets out to search for sausage. Falda excuses himself and enjoys encounters with several young women. When he returns he is wearing a womans shirt. Riga comments on it and Falda explains that he feared the Gani woman would have power over him and so he found someone willing to swap shirts with him. Riga looks at the back of the shirt and playfully bluffs that the hole is still there. In a panic Falda rips the shirt off and throws it in the fire.

Shortly after they leave and head home where they find Reno & Asgin sharing a nightcap. Dominick heads up to bed (with a sausage) and Riga, Feylanna and Falda join the pair (Falda puts on a shirt first) for a last drink or two before heading up to bed. After they retire, Riga dons a cloak, grabs her axe and heads out into the night.

Riga slips into the grounds of the Candleman residence and makes her way to the door. She is about to knock when she notices a female figure sitting in a tree roughly 30’ up. “Hello?” Riga calls. The figure leaps to another branch and then runs along the branch before ducking against the trunk to conceal herself. Riga cast dancing lights and set them up the tree to reveal a very old woman dressed in noble clothes silver and gems, “What are you ding at my house?”

“I meant no harm, I was asked to come”

The old woman leapt gracefully and effortlessly to the ground. She sized up Riga, “Here to see Mr Macy? He is my son in law.”

Riga knocks and Sir Macy opens the door. “I met a woman in the tree outside. She claimed to be your mother in law” Riga says somewhat confusedly.

“She is” Macy replied matter of factly.

“Is that normal?”

“No, she’s not”

“Is she a spirit?”

Macy sighs wearily “No, she has dinner with us every night” He explains that she is upset because she wasn’t invited to the party. She is not on good terms with the Count owing to the fact that she was his first wife.

“Your wife is the Counts daughter?” Riga nearly stammers and Macy confirms her presumption. This would explain why Riga had seen Macy’s wife whispering in the Count’s ear at the party.

Riga follows Macy down a secret staircase to an underground grotto with a pool in it. Macy explains that this well was the reason the previous count chose to build on this location. It is fed by an underground spring and some of the water drains to fill this pond. It forms a perfect natural conduit for sending messages. This was the method he used to communicate with Greenthorn earlier in the day. Kaspar is safe in the temple and waiting for an opportunity to go into hiding. Riga says that Kaspar had a secret about Baron Burmick and travelled with him to Tirastrand on the Floating Pearl, but that Riga never learned the secret. Macy says that Thunderwolf (Kaspar) was staying with him before departing for Karan and that they believed the Koberstone was with Burmick on the ship. They know that the Wizards of Winter had the Koberstone and were seeking the egg, It is strongly believed that Baron Burmick’s father was involved in this search and therefore stands to reason that Burmick is now in possession of the Koberstone. But that is not what he brought Riga here to discuss.

“I wanted to show you something else,” Macy says and pours a vial of liquid into the pond. It begins to roil and bubble as a milky cloudiness spreads over the pool. When the water subsides it is crystal clear like a mirror reflecting somewhere else. The scene is of a ballroom with a couple dancing. Riga immediately recognizes the ballroom as Stillkeel Keep. As she stares closer, she sees that the couple dancing is in fact Sir Rivett dancing with Lady Nina Karman lord Karman’s daughter (and with Barry’s death heir to the island). “Keep looking,” urges Macy and Riga is shocked to see that the man playing lute in the corner is none other than Kaspar himself.

“Is this now?” Riga asks.

“This is a vision of the events of earlier today. It came through unbidden right after your message was sent. Perhaps the sending regarding Thunderwolf drew this image to us.” The two discuss for a while about the impossibility of Kaspar being in both Liebsmouth and Karan at the same time. Riga says that Crowbearle has in the past taken Kaspar’s form when it suited his purposes. Which one is the real Kaspar? Macy has no answers, but merely wanted Riga to see the vision as it must certainly be important. As Riga is leaving the Candleman estate she sees Sir Tristen and Soren returning home from a night of revelry (they are staying with Candleman). They do not notice her.

In the morning Falda wakes, eats bathes and then sets out. Riga offers to go along, but Falda knows this is something he must do himself. Nervous, Falda goes to the shop district and buys nicer clothing than he has ever owned. It doesn’t help. He makes his way to the Fugelsang Manor (where Sir Gracebourne is staying) with time to spare, but walks around the block for nearly an hour before getting the courage up to actually knock. A servant escorts him through the manor past a room where Lady Freisen is talking with a well dressed but very fat man. He is taken to a patio where a table is set for two. The servant pours wine and excuses himself. Sir Gracebourne is leaning on the rail looking out at the harbor. Falda joins him and they enjoy the view for a moment before moving to the table. Sir Gracebourne encourages Falda to have some wine and still Falda is unable to speak, uncertain of where to begin, or even what he hopes to gain from this conversation. In the end Sir Gracebourne begins. They talk for the better part of two hours.

After the play ends, the group remembers that Root had said that he didn’t send the invitation or the passes on the Forgotten Wings to them. The group spends a few minutes creating a list of how many people would want them at the Ram’s Horn Festival and for what nefarious purpose. No light is shed on this mystery as of now.

A tall blonde woman takes the stage. She whispers, “We’ve seen how Mir elevated Lady Moss. Now we will see her power over Mossland.” Halflings bring a pile of logs on stage. The blonde lady then says, “Lady Moss, help us call spirits of Mossland to sing songs of fertility. Spirits, listen to your mistress. Take this wood as your body.” White flowers and acorns grow out of the logs and wooden owls appear inside of the flowers. Above the stage, there are three black fey sitting and watching the proceedings. The fey point at Dominic and then one of them starts gnawing at the ropes holding the large group of logs. Suddenly, a fire starts under the logs and then chaos ensues. A humanoid being appears that seems to eject electricity from its body every time it teleports somewhere else. The owls start attacking the onlookers. The blonde lady is trying to control the flaming logs while the big purple cat kills a black fey in its mouth.

After the group dispatches the multiple threats, they assess the auditorium and find around twenty people dead. The party is able to prevent four people from dying. Billy Ryefield shows up and tells them that the blonde woman is a witch named Gwasil. He also brings the group to the VIP gates and they go in, but not before Falda’s staff is taken away.

Inside of the Century Castle, they see Usuna taking part in a ritual of Solomon, the sun god in front of Count Vico and his guests. She then does another, darker ritual where a man dressed in burlap drinks from a goblet and falls dead. Serpents come out of his body and some of the partygoers eat the serpents. This is a ritual of Ulgoth, the deity that lives in a channel between the mainland and Mossland. Feylanna immediately starts staggering because a person died right in front of her. She suddenly screams, “Where is my head?!”, grabs Dominic, and holds him over the railing. Falda calms Feylanna down as a servant brings some muffins on a tray.

While they eat their muffins, Billy Ryefield appears with two women on his arm. Falda decides to take part in some womanly treats like Billy while the rest of the group goes to the main floor and speaks with Lady Friesen. She asks if the party is going to TIrastrand and says she hopes it is more than Pentrop bargained for. She then glides away to talk to other people before the group has time to decipher her cryptic message.

Back in Reno’s house and Feylanna gets an unquenchable hunger for more mammoth. While she is led into the kitchen to eat more, a halfling woman comes in with two chickens and a rooster. Immediately, Dominic hears them arguing amongst themselves about how stupid Dominic is and how he should have listened to Emilda and asked Hailstone a lot more questions. Dominic brings the chickens to his room and attempts to question them further, but continues to get stubborn, bird-brain answers and agrees to let them free out the window. He gives the halfling woman 2 sp to go to the market to replace the birds. Dominic casts LESSERRESTORATION on Falda to cure up some of the ghoul fever damage and the group heads to the docks.

On the way there, more strange animal behavior as a group of birds shits all over the group, including two city guards. A guard dog also tries to attack Dominic, but Riga yanks the dog back in time. Feylanna casts HIDEFROMANIMALS on Dominic to prevent further weirdness. The party reaches the docks and rents a rowboat for 5 sp and rows towards the Fairing Fowl. Feylanna casts DISGUISESELF and puts on the appearance of Root Hanson. Feylanna, Riga, and Falda go aboard the Fairing Fowl while Dominic stays with the rowboat. Falda casts VANISH on himself several times to sneak around on the ship.

Back on the rowboat, Dominic is hassled by three black fey, who taunt and throw shit at him and untie the rowboat from the ship. Dominic wants nothing more than to attack them, but he is able to keep his cool and ignore them for the most part. On the ship, Falda casts SPEAKWITHANIMALS and questions a rat named Big Daddy Rat, but Big Daddy Rat hasn’t seen Ben around on the ship. Feylanna finds Root’s room, but no actual Root. The group leaves the ship and heads back to the dock. They return the rowboat and Falda goes into the pilot office and asks if they know Odemar. They do and point Falda to the Sunrise District.

The group returns to Malakis’ house to change clothes and ask Asgin Irontoe if he knows Odemar. He says Odemar does things that others won’t for a price and that he is rumored to have a connection with spirits of the sea. The party then goes to Sentry Castle to watch a play. Feylanna and Dominic check their weapons with the guards at the gate and they go in. They see Billy Ryefield and Root Hanson, who is standing near Tom Hafner, the acolyte of Hatcher. They talk to Root and he says that Ben went missing after Sir Barry’s death and that Sir Barry was stabbed in Count Rivett’s castle in Elmsgrove. He invites them to the Sentry Castle party after the play.

They see Sir Graceborn, the playwright, in the VIP section as the play begins. The story is about Captain Kavar and his men and their difficulty of trying to hunt and farm on a land that doesn’t seem to have animals or arable soil. A tall blonde woman, Bahdredva, hands a spear to a Miri woman on a tapestry. Bahdredva turns into a halfling woman and is approached by a purple cat. The cat promises to provide food to Kavar and his men. The cat sings love songs to Captain Kavar but he asks Mir for help. The play ends…

Falda is ordered to take a bath as part of the ritual to cure him of the Hollow. While in the bath, he is drugged and falls asleep so Usuna can more easily complete the healing ritual. Dominic asks if he can watch the ritual and Usuna is amenable. Usuna places crushed gemstones and Falda’s face and mouth and mumbles some esoteric words. She indicates that the ritual is complete and Dominic casts REMOVEDISEASE to cure Falda of his ghoul fever. The rest of the group take a bath and Feylanna and Riga notice that there are fresh, clean dresses for them to wear when they finish bathing.

They sit down for lunch and are joined by Reno Malakis, his wife, Felina Malakis, Usuna, and a dwarven merchant and minor noble named Asgin Irontoe from Amberwall. An icebeak named Clara flies in and lands on Asgin’s shoulder. Lunch is served and it is mammoth soup and then a mammoth trunk over a kale salad. The mammoth was supplied by Asgin and is considered a delicacy where he is from. Reno says that he and Felina will be at a party that night in Century Castle and that they will also see the play by Sir Graceborn, Falda’s birth father. Reno also says that they can remain at his place as his guests.

After lunch, the party goes towards Gandrella’s place. Unfortunately, Dominic starts sinking into the soft ground and is forced to be carried the rest of the way to Gandrella’s. Gandrella is told that Ben is accused of killing Sir Barry and that Ben’s current whereabouts are unknown. Gandrella tells Dominic to pay back Emilda and to get Pravus back from Miragenon because the sinking ground is part of the curse. Dominic says he will do that as soon as he can.

The group leaves and runs into Soren Rendrick who is working security for Tristan. Soren lets them know where he is staying in the Sunrise area. Then the group goes to Candleman’s. Riga says that a vision from the Temple of Nesciec led him there to deliver a message. Inside, Riga meets Sir Macy Candleman and tells him “The thunder wolf must roam.” He also asks Riga if he has spoken with Baron Elisand. Macy Candleman says that the Temple of Nesciec can destroy the Kolban Egg. The group is still confused as to who should end up with the egg. They leave and end back up at Reno Malakis’s house.

Dominic sits in the small cabin tirelessly studying the Nobles of Lebsmouth book through the night while the rest of the party sleeps quietly. Early in the morning, Feylanna is the first to rouse. She gets up and looks around and mumbles something that Dominic doesn’t quite make out as he is engulfed in his reading, but he looks up and asks her what she said. She suddenly starts screaming that she cannot find her head and she wakes up the rest of the group. Riga’s theory is that the dead stay with Feylanna somehow and that the yelling was Hailstone looking for his head. Falda looks terribly sticken with the ghoul fever and Dominic estimates that he has about three days left before he dies. Breakfast is brought to the room and the meal eaten in worried silence.

On the top deck, an enormous shark attacks the ship. The group minus Falda go above to see it and Dominic is attacked by the shark, which jumps up high and bites him. Falda appears and brings Riga’s trident and Feylanna’s bow. Falda summons four squid that surround the shark and keep it occupied while the ship sails away. Feylanna casts HIDEFROMANIMALS on Dominic to prevent further animal attacks. The day passes with lunch and dinner being served and no further oddities occurring. In the evening, Riga attempts to call Shantarra, her spirit guide, but Shantarra doesn’t answer.

Wintersun returns and says it is obvious the party isn’t ready to make a deal and that, when they are ready, he will return to discuss the terms. He says to contact Fellan Andaro, a Quartzar in Lebsmouth that works for Kolban. Wintersun says that this all started with the Tome of Abis. The Tome released the knowledge of the Kolban Egg into Falda. Gobain tried to get to Falda and manipulate him through the Tome. Wintersun also says that Gobain would be the only Wizard of Winter mad enough to work with the Albino Prince and against the King of Lebsmouth.

The night passes and in the morning, the ship pulls into port. Other ships in the port include the Fairing Fowl, the Rising Eagle, and the Floating Pearl, Baron Burmeck’s ship. All of a sudden, the Forgotten Wings is attacked by a swarm of tiny crabs! Feylanna casts WINDWALL and Falda casts BURNINGHANDS to keep the crabs at bay. Riga saves a group of people and Dominic heals a couple, saving them from certain death.

Finally free of the crab swarm, the party makes its way to docks. There is a Cleric of Ram that seems to be tricking people into having sex with sheep for payment by transforming the sheep into beautiful women without the buyer’s knowledge. The group walks in the direction of Gandrella’s place but Dominic sees Usuna from the Gilded Grace in the marketplace. Usuna repeats that she needs crushed up gemstones to cure the party of the Tears of Mawramei curse. They ask her if she knows a healer in town that can cure ghoul fever and she directs them to a man named Mr Malakis. They make their way there and he demands payment in order to cure Falda. Falda offers up his dancing shoe and Mr. Malakis accepts. He gives the money to Usuna to start the ritual and cure Falda of his Hollow…

While walking through the ship, Riga decides to speak with the adherent to the Cult of the Unborn God. The cultist says that the portents are here and the Unborn God is coming soon. Riga asks if the Unborn God is related to Tira and the cultist says that in the sense that the Unborn God has the blood of Mir and so does Tira, so they are related in that way. The man says that he is traveling to the Ram’s Horn Festival and hopes that the fertility rites will speed up the birth of the Unborn God and that the sign will be obvious when it happens. Riga casts UNSEENSERVANT to rock the cradle for the cultist so he can take a break.

Back in the cabin, a meal of a large fish, potatoes, and beer is delivered to the cabin. They are about to eat when the fish turns to Dominic and says, “Don’t trust the rats.” Dominic shakes his head to clear it and asks the rest of the group if they heard what happened. They didn’t, and to prove it, Falda takes an enormous chunk of fish and starts chowing down. The group hears a rumor that there was a mysterious dwarf seen on deck and that Billy Ryefield was saying that it was the ghost of Shortreef Roger. The party knows that it was probably Wintersun and they go on deck.

Billy Ryefield tells Feylanna about the ghost of Shortreef Roger and the increase in piracy in the area. Roger’s accomplice was a large Miri warrior called the Sea Fox. The Sea Fox killed his crew with something similar to the Abaresk Plague to escape capture; is he possibly the Albino Prince? Before that, he kidnapped Lady Linden, the daughter of King Valdemar. It was said that she fell in love with the Sea Fox during her captivity. She was ransomed and returned and a crusade against the pirates was undertaken. Lady Linden was then engaged to Sir Aaron Grimes, the Captain of the Marin Ram. Legend has it that he was given the Gisborn, given to him by his father from King Valdemar as a wedding present. However, Lady Linden called off the wedding, presumably because she was still in love with the Sea Fox. After telling his tales, Billy invites the group to a play written by a famous Lebsmouth playwright at the keep, called the Seduction of Lady Moss. At the news of this, Falda grows more sullen than normal. He says that the playwright is his probably his real father and that he doesn’t want to see him.

Dominic, chock full of Lebsmouth knowledge, shares what he knows of the Huesholms (all this information will be on the Wiki). Huesholms are a legendary family in Lebsmouth with the current head being Baron Henrik Huesholm. Gilhorn Huesholm was the first king of Lebsmouth, and the Huesholm line reigned until King Hengel I fled Lebsmouth in 525 as the city was being ravaged by the Abaresk Plague and on the threshold of the Decade of Winter.

When Lebsmouth was resettled after the Decade of Winter, Vandril Gelgar claimed the throne, but took Hengel’s daughter Linden as his wife, and she gave birth to King Hengel II. The Gelgar and Huesholm families intermarried again in 630 when King Gorm II Gelgar married Emilda Huesholm, the great grandmother of current King Hengel IV.

The Huesholms are revered among the Miri as a family of pure Miri blood whose lineage goes back to first Miri. The family has several albinos, and it is considered a sign of their purity of Mir blood. The family were founders and first kings of the city of Huesholm on Lake Miri, but King Darmokim Huesholm renounced the throne and sent his sons in search of the Darmiras Path instead of becoming Kings of Huesholm. Howerver, his son Gilhorn managed to become King of Lebsmouth instead.

Back in their cabin, Dominic is swaddled for an hour and then a fish that Feylanna caught earlier is served up. The door is knocked upon and Wintersun is invited in. Negotiations ensure about what to do with the Kolban Egg and how the Kolban Egg is not to be used if it is returned to Wintersun and the Kolbans. The negotiations haven’t been completed and all parties agree to resume in the future, but Wintersun does agree to take Hailstone’s head and give it the proper Kolban burial rituals.

After Falda misses Wintersun on the deck, he decides to return to the cabin to sleep. On his way back, Riga gives him a Plague Rat Belt that will assist him in fending off his illness. Falda gives Dominic a book entitled Nobles of Lebsmouth and Dominic decides to go back to the cabin as well to read it. Feylanna and Riga remain on deck and see the southern tip of Mossland. Feylanna’s sharp eyes also see a strange grouping of seagulls coming towards them. After a few minutes, the seagull grouping reaches the ship and starts flying around, being nuisances to the crew and shitting all over the deck.

Feylanna goes to the cabin and notifies Dominic. Dominic decides to go up and peek his head out of the ship to take a look. This turns out to be a mistake as one of the seagulls dive bombs Dominic’s face. Luckily, he is able to dodge out of the way and Feylanna grabs the bird with her quick reflexes and kills it. She says she’s seen something similar and that Dominic should return to the cabin. He listens to Feylanna and once he does, the birds in the sky depart. The ship’s crew take this time to clean themselves and the deck of the massive amounts of bird droppings. Dominic casts DETECTMAGIC on the dead bird, but doesn’t find any residual traces of magic on it.

Meanwhile, Falda has an encounter with Wintersun, still in dwarf form, inside of the cabin. Wintersun again tried to make a deal with the party for getting the Kolban Egg back and, in return, offered to lift the veil on who betrayed the group and who stole the Kolban Egg from them. Falda demands assurances from Wintersun that the Kolban Egg won’t be used to harm the Miri people. Wintersun disappears soon after that.

Falda explains his encounter to everybody else and they discuss what to do with the Kolban Egg once they get it back (assuming they get it back). The Kolban Egg can be given to the Temple of Nesciec, Baron Burmeck, Wintersun, OR the group can just keep it to use for themselves (Falda’s idea). While the conversation is taking place, dinner of fish, potatoes, and beer is delivered to the room. The discussion turns to Gandrella, who is Ben’s great grandaunt. She lives in Mossland in Reachport and the group talks about meeting up with her. As the hour is getting late, Dominic is swaddled for an hour, then takes watch while the rest sleep.

During the night, Dominic notices a rat in the hallway that seems to be gesturing to him to follow. Dominic follows the rat to the ship’s lower deck storeroom and is swarmed by hundreds upon hundreds of rats. He claws his way back above and alerts his companions to what happened. They have the ship’s crew search the hold, but no rats are found. Falda doesn’t believe Dominic’s story. Riga says that Pravus had the same problem of aggressive animals around the Ram’s Horn time as well. It is then that everybody notices the Ring of Protection that Falda wears is missing again. Feylanna doesn’t have it this time, but Riga has a hunch and checks the box that is holding Hailstone’s head. The ring is inside of Hailstone’s mouth…